Friday, February 11, 2011

The much-ballyhooed new Facebook e-mail system is about to hit your page, according to an item posted on the social network's blog today. Facebook began letting people sign up in November, but the full rollout to everyone on the network will be coming in the next few weeks.

In announcing the new system last year, the Zuckster said he thinks e-mail is going the way of the dinosaur. This new system, complete with @facebook.com addresses, marks Facebook's attempt to define the next generation of digital messaging. Instead of today's fragmented system in which people use cellphone texts, instant messaging chats and three personal e-mail addresses (that would be me), Facebook's new system threads all those messages through its single portal. One messaging system to rule them all.

It all looks a lot like an e-mail killer, but Facebook keeps protesting that this isn't e-mail. "There are no subject lines, no cc, no bcc, and you can send a message by hitting the Enter key," according to the company's blog. "We modeled it more closely to chat ... We wanted to make this more like a conversation."

There's much to like about the concept. Who wouldn't want to be able to sit at your home computer and strike up a real-time conversation with a friend riding the bus home from work? We'll have to see how it actually works and if there are bugs in it, as there often seems to be with new Facebook changes. Convenience aside, I sort of like not having all my messaging dependent on one provider. And after all, the average smartphone threads all of your messages into one viewing screen, anyway. Is Facebook offering a convenience nobody really asked for?

I have a facebook account to keep in touch with coworkers who've left the company, out of town relatives and friends who have moved away. All we do is share photos of the kids and garden, wish people happy birthday or anniversary, and announce to the world when someone is getting married. No need for chats, not many messages. I really don't use email except for coupons from my favorite website. I don't text much except if I'm meetg someone and running late, and rarely need voice mail. Why? I CALL people. Personally. To talk. To hear their voice. I do this when they are home and free to relax and talk. Yes, some people don't mind sitting quietly reading on a bus trip home. And I'm in my early 20s.

I think it's a great step for Facebook. As with anything it's going to take a few trial and errors for them tweet it to the approval level of their users. However, for those who are obsessed Facebook, I see this feature being a huge success.